Jessica Rendell, the president of Heavenly Creatures, a no-kill animal charity, said several donation boxes have been stolen from local shops. And most recently, $100 in pennies was stolen from a car outside the charity's office.

"We ran into the office to grab something else to put the pennies in, and weren't gone very long at all," said Rendell. "And somebody had managed to lift this gigantic bag of pennies that would take two people to move, and made away with it."

"We were flabbergasted."

Money for vet care

Rendell said the pennies would have covered the cost of neutering one male cat.

So far this year Rendell said Heavenly Creatures has already spent $60,000 of its donations on veterinarian bills, treating multiple types of animal injuries and infections.

"The point is, how bad is your life if you're stealing money from a charity?" she asked.

Rendell said without monetary donations, the group cannot do its work.